Jab’s Builds! (Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef! Sweetums! Gonzo!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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danelsan
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by danelsan »

Greatest comic-book-related shame I have about my kid self: I though freaking Shatterstar was super cool :oops:

On Magik, I don't recall reading much with her in it. I certainly only learned the whole gist of her backstory as an adult (and still don't know the details), but it just seems to be the kind of annoying convoluted backstory that I don't like. Combine it with the nasty personality and apparently never being called out on the monstrous things she does every now and then, and it seems she is not my kind of character.

My 90s self would likely have approved, though.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Horsenhero wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2017 6:43 am I never much cared for Magik. She just seemed to "power-geek" for New Mutants, not to mention the needlessly complicated "look, alternate dimension/future/cosplayer X-Men died again and this time it was by Belasco (who started as a Ka-Zar villain, right? Freakin' Ka-Zar and now he's destroying the X-Men!?!) only there was a Storm, but not our Storm only it might be our Storm because Claremont has done so many drugs he can no longer keep the number of "alternate timeline but maybe not" stories he's written straight!

But I digress.

Anyway...so, Magik, yeah. Not her biggest fan. I figure the only reason Claremont didn't make her the "most powerful, omega level sorcerer" in the MU is editorial told him no. When Claremont is on, he's ON, but when he's not...you get, Warlock and Magik and a Ka-Zar villain (who can't even clap) all as central characters. What is it with Claremont and Ka-Zar villains anyway? He also tried to pawn off Garrok the Petrified Man as a legit team wrecking threat.

Though I'll give Magik this much, next to Rusty, Skids, Bird-Boy, Shatterstar, Feral and Doop, she's made of solid gold.
Magik had a few restraints on her- she could only affect Magical Beings with her Soulsword (the Demon Bear fight would have been anticlimactic as hell, except nobody seemed to KNOW that power yet. Plus, Dani was actively dying on the operating table during the whole thing, which reads authentically harrowing even now), and her Stepping Discs had a huge amount of weaknesses on them, to the point where the team didn't even like using them- they tended to fling them into Alternate Futures! The bad ones, where New Mutants characters dress up in S&M gear and have nose-rings. You can always tell a future's bad when Sam Guthrie looks like he enjoys being paddled.

Yeah, the Ka-Zar things is weird. Maybe he read that a couple years before and thought they were CLASSIC comics? At least his Ms. Marvel thing is understandable- shoving all of Carol's Rogues onto the X-Men's Rogues Gallery was because he'd spent all that time & effort on them, and now that he had pull on the X-Men, he could force them on fans and get away with it! And hell- look at friggin' Mystique. It WORKED.

Deathbird... not so much.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by Jabroniville »

danelsan wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2017 6:56 am Greatest comic-book-related shame I have about my kid self: I though freaking Shatterstar was super cool :oops:

On Magik, I don't recall reading much with her in it. I certainly only learned the whole gist of her backstory as an adult (and still don't know the details), but it just seems to be the kind of annoying convoluted backstory that I don't like. Combine it with the nasty personality and apparently never being called out on the monstrous things she does every now and then, and it seems she is not my kind of character.

My 90s self would likely have approved, though.
Heh- she was imprisoned at the end of the New Mutants run (for essentially using the team to murder the Elder Gods of Limbo), her own brother says he wants to kill her, and she had to join Cyclops's "Dark, On-The-Run X-Men" team to find anything to do, so I think she's finally getting called out for all her nonsense. The New Mutants book was a little more odd with it- Simonson seemed worse for just throwing Mooks into Limbo without thinking about what was going to happen there, though I know Claremont let a baddie or two end up there, himself.

And... I owned TWO Shatterstar toys. And loved that issue where he fought a certain Third Summers Brother That Never Was. So I hear you :).
Jabroniville
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Belasco

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

BELASCO
Created By:
Bruce Jones & Brent Anderson
First Appearance: Ka-Zar the Savage #11 (Feb. 1982)
Role: Evil Wizard, Sinister Seducer
Group Affiliations: The Demon Lords of Limbo
PL 12 (334)
STRENGTH
5 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+6)
Deception 10 (+14)
Expertise (Magic) 12 (+16)
Expertise (History) 2 (+6)
Insight 2 (+6)
Intimidation 3 (+7)
Perception 2 (+6)
Persuasion 8 (+12)
Ranged Combat (Magic) 4 (+10)

Advantages:
Artificer, Benefit 5 (Ruler of Limbo), Fascinate (Persuasion), Improved Critical (Sword), Ranged Attack 2, Ritualist

Powers:
"Immortal Within Limbo" Immortality 20 (Flaws: Limited to While Within Limbo) [20]
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Force Field 3 [3]
Senses 1 (Magical Awareness) [1]

Mind Control 12 (48) -- [56]
  • AE: "Eldritch Bolts" Blast 14 (Feats: Variable Descriptor 2, Penetrating 12) (30)
  • AE: Force Field +4 (Extras: Impervious 13) (17)
  • AE: "Corruption" Affliction 12 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Transformed to Corrupted, Evil Soul) (Extras: Insidious, Disease +2) (48)
  • AE: Movement 3 (Dimensional Travel 3) (Extras: Portal +2) (12)
  • AE: "Create Unholy Objects" Create 5 (Extras: Continuous) (10)
  • AE: "Mystic Bonds" Snare 10 (20)
  • AE: "Extra-Sensory Perception" Remote Sensing (All Senses) 8 (4,000 feet) (Flaws: Physical Body is Defenseless) (24)
  • AE: "Telekinesis" Move Object 12 (12)
"Transform Limbo" Transform Anything to Anything Else 10 (Extras: Perception-Ranged +2, Continuous) [80]
"Raise the Dead" Summon Undead 3 (Extras: Horde, 8 Minions +6, Variable- Any Dead Creature, Controlled, Active) [36]

"Magic Sword" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [6]
Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical) (Extras: Penetrating 6) (10 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Sword +11 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Mind Control -- (+12 Perception-Ranged Affliction, DC 22)
Corruption +11 (+12 Affliction, DC 22)
Eldritch Blast +10 (+14 Ranged Damage, DC 29)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +5 (+8 Force Field, +12 Full Field), Fortitude +7, Will +10

Complications:
Responsibility (Elder Gods)- Belasco is beholden to several dark Demon Lords of unknown power- his mission is to sire a new breed of demonic beings on Earth.
Responsibility (Limbo)- Belasco was trapped in Limbo, and tried to get Illyana to form the gateway that would allow him to escape.
Disabled (One-Armed)- Belasco's own sword was once used to sever his arm.
Power Loss (Magical Powers)- Belasco once lost his powers as Illyana slowly gained them during their climactic battle. Ultimately, he was rendered a normal human.

Total: Abilities: 82 / Skills: 46--23 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 203 / Defenses: 15 (334)

-Belasco was actually a KA-ZAR villain at first (being released from suspended animation by Shanna the She-Devil), but soon got snapped up by Chris Claremont as a weird Dark Lord type of character for his X-Men run. He kidnapped Illyana Rasputin, and in a weird twist common to Limbo stories, resulted in Illyana suddenly aging seven years in an instant- it turns out that not only did a group of X-Men once save her in another timeline, at the expense of their own lives (they ended up trapped in Limbo, with many dying and the rest being warped by Belasco's power), but the MAINSTREAM Illyana had in fact been trapped, and forced to undergo horrific training in Limbo- being trained by Storm in good magic, Belasco in dark magic, and Kitty "Cat" Pryde in martial skill, finally allowing her to defeat Belasco and take his role as the ruler of Limbo... at which point she met the X-Men who'd just seen a young girl pass through the portal, seven years older than she once was.

-Belasco got the most play in the Magik Limited Series, which is really quite good, avoiding the usual "I did drugs while writing this" stuff a lot of Mystic Dimension Where Natural Laws are Meaningless stories suffer from. When he first kidnaps Illyana, Belasco corrupts her soul (altering part of it to be just like him, and leaving it to fester), an affliction she would retain for her entire life. Illyana rejects his attempts to bring her back to his side, all the while wanting to join him, in a relationship rife with horrifying sexual tension ("He cackles evilly. I'm so glad he's pleased with me"). However, he underestimated Illyana's goodness, and her fighting skills, as she defeated him by going Full Demon. She failed to take the last step to corruption by slaying him (an alternate version of Storm- the one who'd trained Illyana- had killed him and thus been forever corrupted, which allowed him to take control over her when he revealed that he was impossible to kill in Limbo), which caused him to teleport away.

-He showed up a few more times in other stories, usually in minor bits, dealing with Ka-Zar again, The Punisher (helping a guy called The Rev resurrect Jigsaw) and Alpha Flight (where he corrupted Witchfire in a HUGE rip-off of the whole Magik deal, taking advantage of the fact that Illyana was either a child or dead by then), and took control of Limbo once again, but was unseated when Illyana was herself finally resurrected.

-Belasco is beatable on Earth, but within Limbo, it's nearly impossible. His Corruption power had turned Kitty Pryde into a nasty cat-person, Nightcrawler into a mindless demon, and even caused STORM to be irreversibly changed (never mind what he did to Illyana). Killed by Storm, he resurrected instantly, laughing as she corrupted herself in this act of murder against a beaten foe (Illyana knew this, and learned from Storm's mistake- sparing Belasco and saving her soul). He can do all kinds of magical stuff, and permanently change the environment of Limbo (with Remote Sensing or in his castle, he can change stuff far and wide- all of Limbo reflected his image, aside from Storm's beloved tranquil forest), and even fight with great skill. Many of the powers are outside of an array, meaning he can do multiple things at once.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:47 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Batgirl III
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by Batgirl III »

Buffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: Amilyn: We're immortal, Buffy. We can do anything.
Buffy: Oh yeah? Clap.
I swear, there's a BtVS quote for everything.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by Doctor Malsyn »

I'd like to thank Jab for his age old Mystique build made using 2e, since that helped give me a guide to help construct my own morphing infiltrator character. Very appreciated.
Am I dead? Am I alive? The answer may surprise you!
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Horsenhero
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by Horsenhero »

Doctor Malsyn wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2017 7:34 am I'd like to thank Jab for his age old Mystique build made using 2e, since that helped give me a guide to help construct my own morphing infiltrator character. Very appreciated.
He IS useful like that. :P
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Doctor Malsyn wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2017 7:34 am I'd like to thank Jab for his age old Mystique build made using 2e, since that helped give me a guide to help construct my own morphing infiltrator character. Very appreciated.
No probz- though it's been so long since I played 2e, I don't think I could make a build now if I could :). "ugh- so... many... skills... No Affliction... can't... build..."
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by Batgirl III »

Jabroniville wrote: No probz- though it's been so long since I played 2e, I don't think I could make a build now if I could :). "ugh- so... many... skills... No Affliction... can't... build..."
I've been looking at my own 2e builds and trying to put one together. It's like trying to do algebra in Sanskrit.
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Horsenhero
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by Horsenhero »

I know this will seem like heresy, but, except for the broken grapple rules, I still prefer 2e as a system. 3e lost too much of its granularity for my taste and when Flying Monkey Games finally puts the finishing touches on the new version of Villains & Vigilantes they're cooking up, I'm going to buy it, because if there's anything those old FGU (Fantasy Games Unlimited) games had, it was granularity. Hell, you couldn't even play Aftermath or Space Opera without a calculator close by. I swear FGU's slogan should have been: "RPG's for engineers and science majors...because any idiot can play D&D!"

I don't necessarily want my supers games to be that complex, but there's such a thing as too simple as well.
Jabroniville
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S'ym

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

S'YM
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Brent Anderson
First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men #160 (Aug. 1982)
Role: Dumb Muscle
Group Affiliations: Limbo
PL 11 (119)
STRENGTH
13 STAMINA 13 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Limbo) 4 (+4)
Intimidation 10 (+10)
Perception 2 (+3)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Hold, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2, Startle, Takedown

Powers:
Power-Lifting 3 (1,600 tons) [3]
Impervious Tougness 13 [13]

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+13 Damage, DC 28)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +13 (+7 Impervious), Fortitude +13, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Limbo's Ruler)- S'ym used to follow Belasco, and when Illyana usurped his role, S'ym followed her. He occasionally goes into business for himself, however.
Motivation (Power)- S'ym wants to rule Limbo himself.

Total: Abilities: 74 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 16 / Defenses: 12 (119)

-S'ym, named for Cerebus cartoonist Dave Sim (he's even a bit Cerebus-like in appearance and speech), was Belasco's muscle within Limbo. He soon became Illyana's sarcastic second-in-command, following orders once she manages to fight him back from whatever rebellion he tries to muster. However, he soon allies with The Magus (Warlock's father, not Adam Warlock's evil self) and becomes a techno-organic monster, infecting all of Limbo. He then allied with N'astirh & Madelyne Pryor as part of the Inferno X-Crossover, setting off another big mess that ended up with Illyana being de-aged back to a kid once Limbo's nightmarish invasion of New York City ended.

-S'ym attempted another invasion, but was beaten by Cable, who'd been sent by Belasco (who wanted control of Limbo for himself again). Both were then defeated by Nightcrawler & his main squeeze Amanda Sefton (the new Magik, and ruler of Limbo). Eventually, he was just shown as some guy in Limbo again, when Illyana returned to her old role. The most notable thing to me about S'ym is how much I hated him when I first read the X-books that introduced Magik a decade or so ago- despite my being a freakin' adult, it legitimately bothered me that S'ym was apparently strong enough to kill my beloved Colossus (well, an alternate version of him anyways)- I like to think I'm above that kind of fanboyish nonsense these days, but that unfair bias still causes me to dislike this character :).

-S'ym is greater than '80s Colossus in strength (apparently snapping off one of Wolverine's claws, back when they were in "bionic housings" and not part of his adamantium skeleton), and thus packs the usual PL 11 Powerhouse build. He's tough as hell, and hard to keep down in a fight, but Illyana's Soul Sword can one-off him as easily as it does any OTHER magical being (I remember someone on another forum whining that Dormammu had a "poor showing" by failing to kill Magik in a recent story. I pointed out that it was a GREAT SHOWING for The Dread One, since Magik is practically 100% designed for the EXCLUSIVE PURPOSE of f*cking up Magical Entities, ESPECIALLY when she's within Limbo at full power).

When he's infected by the Techno-Virus, he gains a LOT of power, dropping only his Stamina (-36 points), adding 119 points in the end!:

"Transmode Creature"
"Mechanical Being" Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 13 (Extras: Impervious) [26]
"Self-Repairs" Regeneration 10 (Flaws: Source- Requires Lifeglow) [5]
"Interplanetary Travel" Movement 2 (Space Travel 2) [4]
"Sensory Array" Senses 14 (Analytical Sight 2, Darkvision 2, Extended Vision 2, Distance Sense, Infravision, Microscopic Vision 2, Radio, Radius Sight 2, Rapid Sight) [14]

"Mass Form Alterations" Shapeshift 5 (Flaws: Limited to Mechanical Forms & Powers) [35]

"Inflict the Transmode Virus" Affliction 9 (Fort; Impaired/Disabled/Transformed) (Feats: Incurable, Reach 4) (Extras: Cumulative, Progressive +2) (41)
  • AE: "Cutting Laser" Blast 12 (Feats: Extended Reach) (Extras: Multiattack) (37)
  • AE: "Absorb Lifeglow Energy" Damage 10 (Extras: Penetrating) Linked to Weaken Toughness 10 (Flaws: Both Limited to Transmode Creatures) (20)
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
Horsenhero
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by Horsenhero »

If I was Dave Sim I would legit threaten Claremont's health and well-being over this. I mean I know Sim took shots at both the X-Men and others in Cerebus (of course so did E-Man with Zit-Pops, Dark Albatross, the Weasel, etc. makes me wonder whether Claremont returned fire at Joe Staton at any point), but Cerebus was supposed to be that way. S'ym is just a crime against humanity and libel at the very least.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by MissRo »

I like his little vest. He looks like he's from the Marvel adaptation of Magic Mike.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Wolfsbane! Cypher! Warlock! Thunderbird! Warpath! Magik!)

Post by bsdigitalq »

Jim Shooter wrote:The S'ym character was a friendly nod to Dave by Chris Claremont. They were friends. There was even talk between them about an X-Men Cerebus crossover, which Mike Hobson and I were okay with, mostly to humor Chris. It never got done for some reason. Not because of Marvel. Hobson had a contract drafted, generous terms, and sent it to Sim, but Sim never got back to us about it.
I couldn't find it online, and I'm not about to go digging through old comic boxes to look up the exact quote, but Dave Sim did run an inside-the-front-cover comment about "S'ym" and his copyright run-ins with Marvel, and unless my memory is completely faulty, he appreciatively noted Jim's gracious "no harm, no foul" decision about the infamous "Wolveroach" covers. Regarding "S'ym," I believe he said in the same column (to Claremont), "I love it!"
Source: http://jimshooter.com/2011/08/comment-a ... days.html/ (comments section)
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Sunspot

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

Yeah, I prefer the "all-black" look to the "shaded" version, too.

SUNSPOT (Roberto da Costa)- Modern Era
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Bob McLeod
First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants (1982)
Role: The Powerhouse, The Lothario, The Team Jokester
Group Affiliations: The New Mutants, X-Force, The Hellfire Club, X-Corporation
PL 10 (156)
STRENGTH
3/10 STAMINA 4/6 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (Business) 14 (+15)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+5)
Expertise (Soccer Player) 4 (+7)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 4 (+7)
Perception 2 (+3)
Persuasion 4 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Solar Blasts) 7 (+10)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Attractive, Benefit 5 (Wealth), Diehard, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Languages (English, Latin, Portugese, As'kani), Power Attack, Takedown, Teamwork

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Solar Absorption"
“Solar Blast” Blast 10 (20) -- [21]
  •   AE: “Super-Strength” Enhanced Strength 7 (14)
“Not Invulnerable (but still tough)” Enhanced Stamina 2 [4]
Protection 3 [3]
“Heat Absorption” Immunity 5 (Heat & Fire Damage) [5]

“Solar-Assisted Flight” Flight 5 (60 mph) [10]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Solar Blast +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+9 Powers), Fortitude +8 (+10 Powers), Will +6

Complications: 
Flashback (Juliana)- Roberto’s first love, Juliana sacrificed her life to save his in his first adventure, and he never quite forgot her after all these years.
Relationship (Sam Guthrie)- Roberto & Sam are the best of friends, and are part of an epic bromance. 
Reputation (Lothario)- Ever since he was a kid, Roberto would attempt to seduce anything female. Women usually sigh and put up with him, finding it non-threatening (it helped that he was a harmless-looking kid), but it often leads him to show off or do stupid things.
Relationship (Father)- Emmanuel da Costa was a brilliant businessman who was a houseboy at 10, a millionaire at 20, and a wealthy political powerhouse at 30. He expected the best of his son. Bobby longs to be worthy of his father, and attempts to follow in his footsteps after the latter’s death.
Responsibility (His Business)- Roberto now leads his father's old business empire with aplomb, and considers it a bigger part of his life than even dressing in tights and punching people.
Power Loss (Solar-Powered)- Bobby’s powers come from solar energy, and it is possible for him to extinguish his powers if used too much at night. In the early days, he was clearly-powerless in darkness.
Enemy (Gideon)- An External mutant, Gideon thought Bobby was an External as well, and used his influence to murder Emmanuel da Costa and manipulate Bobby to his own ends. This ended with Bobby’s torture and joining X-Force.
Enemy (Reignfire)- Reignfire was a super-powered clone of Bobby turned to evil, and he would frequently take over Bobby’s mind and have him commit evil acts. 
Obsession (Magnum P.I.)- Bobby’s obsession with the greatness of this TV show went a little too far at times, and the biggest heartbreak of his life after Juliana’s death was when it went off the air.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 52--26 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 43 / Defenses: 16 (156)

Sunspot- The Immature One... on a team comprised entirely of IMMATURE PEOPLE:
-Sunspot was always fun on his team. Roberto “Bobby” da Costa was a brash, cocky, angry young boy, always the first member of the team to come flying in to beat someone’s head in, and usually the first team member KO’d because of it. The catchphrase “Careful Bobby, you’re strong, not invulnerable!” was a recurring Claremontism of the old days, and Bobby was kind of a “Dumb Muscle” type of guy, but charismatic enough to make up for it. And in spite of his Spoiled Rich Boy upbringing, he was best pals with poor Coal Miner’s Son Sam Guthrie.

-Bobby’s parents were a fascinating couple, as they loved each other, but were constantly sniping at one another over various things (her gallavanting career as an archaeologist sending her all over the world, and his semi-hedonistic wealthy lifestyle).  Bobby himself was torn between his constant anger, and his cool calculating exterior. And his desire for poon. Of the main cast (the initial kids minus Karma plus Magik), you could say he had the least Character Development of the lot of them, as he was always kind of the hot-blooded fist-fighter who didn’t look before he leapt, but hell; some people don’t change that much, y’know?

Bobby in X-Force:
-Bobby’s history gets weird around 1990 or so. His father, a huge part of his life, was poisoned by Gideon, one of those awful '90s-era new X-villains, as part of a labyrinthine plot to manipulate the newest “External” (it was actually Sam, but Gideon thought it was Bobby... which is a weird storyline twist as they spent a TON of time building up Gideon, only to casually whup his ass later). Sunspot quit the New Mutants in its final issues and hooked up with Gideon for a while, before Fabian Nicieza (the X-Force writer) gave him his first big power-upgrade, as Gideon betrayed and experimented upon him, resulting in Bobby turning into the ever-popular “Blaster” archetype in addition to his low-level Super-Strength.

-Then there was some way-too-complicated stuff, as Bobby learned how to fly using his powers just in time to disappear for a year or so in a Teleporation accident, then fight an evil clone (Reignfire), and then turn into basically a Blasting Paragon-type of hero. These were the weak-sales years of X-Force, long after they were in the Top Ten best-sellers list. He slept with Sam's girlfriend Meltdown, learned Askan'i (the language of Cable's people in the future), and more, but kind of floundered once X-Force was cancelled. Bobby returned as the comically-dumb guy of the New Mutants in the great new book- Well, he’s not REALLY dumb, but he’s still the first guy to get knocked on his ass. He’s also the team’s best comic relief, turning into quite the sarcastic jokester over time. About Rogue: (paraphrasing) "She wants me, you can tell. That girl couldn’t touch anyone for YEARS.  Can you imagine how that feels? Sam, tell Amara how that feels." He joined The Avengers with Sam, getting generally the same portrayal, but with a greater emphasis on his incredible wealth.

Roberto Gets a Push:
-Bobby was really introduced out of NOWHERE by Hickman for his 8,000-part Avengers storyline (in his defense, about ten of those issues were really good), if only to create a Sun Boy analogue for the Avengers. His bromance with Cannonball was taken to even further levels of homoeroticism (perhaps made less-stand-outish by the fact that Tony Stark was hella-gay for Steve Rogers in the early parts, and Thor & Hyperion were the manliest "Bear" couple EVER in the same series. Seriously, Hickman takes the inherent homoeroticism of superheroes and cranks it to FIFTY). And for all the series' many, many (MANY) flaws, I like what Hickman did with Bobby- kind of making him a GOOD version of a "Hostile Takeover" guy, actually having the great idea to cut the Gordian Knot of permanent pain in the ass A.I.M., and just BUY THEM OUT. First he buys some Moles in the company, and then he just buys shares in the company until he owns it. And now he's actually the BASE COMMANDER of an Avengers team in the newer books! Sure, a lot of his push might be the fact that he's multiracial in an era that's pushing that (his mother is white, his father looks black- about the right mix for a Brazilian, actually), but as Bobby was ALREADY a good character beforehand, it's a solid shot, and builds off of past stories.

-Hilariously, Bobby has now gotten this CRAZY upgrade in competence, too- Hickman made him a beat of a hedonistic smart-ass, while Zeb Wells had him as a bit of a fall-guy/comic relief type, but under Al Ewing, Sunspot has become "Crazy Awesome"- a guy so good at planning and forethought (ROBERTO DA COSTA. GOOD AT THINKING AHEAD) that he can outplan and outsmart a parallel universe Reed Richards with his labyrinthine plot. Humorously enough, this means that the guy who's spent the past thirty years being the second half of "Cannonball and--" is now a major player in the Marvel Universe, and now Sam is riding HIS coattails.

Sunspot's Stats:
-This build represents Bobby at his Modern-Era Peak. I actually got a good PL 10 (150) build out of him at first, thanks to applying his Super-Strength as an AE of his Blasting power. I normally don’t do that, as it’s kind of a “cheat”, but he really CAN’T use both powers simultaneously, and draws upon the same power source for both of them. Otherwise, he’d be PL 10 (165), which in the current era of high-cost 3e guys might be accurate anyways, but I just felt like it was too much.  This Bobby is perfectly-balanced with +10/+10 on offense (slightly less on defense), which always proves to be pretty strong, as he’s about Class 25 or so (some people go as high as Class 50, but I've never seen anything remotely on that level from him- by the X-Force days he was pretty much JUST a Blaster and barely threw a punch), and his Blasts seem to do similar damage. He was hopelessly out-powered on Hickman's Avengers anyways, given that his teammates included Thor, Hyperion, The Hulk, Starbrand and others.

-And only in this era is he almost as good defensively- his “you’re strong, but not invulnerable!” catchphrase holds true most of the time, and he can’t take the hits like he can dish them out normally. As of now, though, he’s quite the Paragon, though they had seem to had pulled a "Warpath" on him and downgraded his powers back to their original point in the more-recent New Mutants series, as I can't recall him flying or blasting anything, and a few 'net sites seem to corroborate my memories.

-Mentally, he’s not great genius, but he’s not stupid, and is really quite good at business. It wasn't nearly as much as his father, the rest of the Hellfire Club, or other “Rich Bastard” types in the Marvel Universe, but +9 was not too shabby. After a point, however, he REALLY upgraded, eventually becoming adept and smart enough to take over all of A.I.M.

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SUNSPOT (Roberto da Costa)- Early X-Force Era (alliance with Gideon)
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Bob McLeod
First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants (1982)
Role: The Powerhouse, The Lothario, The Angry Kid, The Spoiled Rich Boy
Group Affiliations: The New Mutants
PL 10 (115)
STRENGTH
3/10 STAMINA 4/6 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (Business) 9 (+10)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+5)
Expertise (Soccer Player) 4 (+7)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 4 (+7)
Perception 2 (+3)
Persuasion 4 (+7)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Attractive, Benefit (Wealth) 2, Diehard, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Languages (English, Latin, Portugese), Power Attack, Takedown, Teamwork

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Solar Absorption"
“Super-Strength” Enhanced Strength 7 [14]
“Not Invulnerable (but still tough)” Enhanced Stamina 2 [4]
Protection 3 [3]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+9 Powers), Fortitude +8 (+10 Powers), Will +6

Complications: 
Flashback (Juliana)- Roberto’s first love, Juliana sacrificed her life to save his in his first adventure, and he never quite forgot her after all these years.
Relationship (Sam Guthrie)- Roberto & Sam are the best of friends, and are part of an epic bromance. 
Reputation (Lothario)- Ever since he was a kid, Roberto would attempt to seduce anything female. Women usually sigh and put up with him, finding it non-threatening, but it often leads him to show off or do stupid things.
Relationship (Father)- Emmanuel da Costa was a brilliant businessman who was a houseboy at 10, a millionaire at 20, and a wealthy political powerhouse at 30, and expected the best of his son. Bobby longs to be worthy of his father, and attempts to follow in his footsteps after the latter’s death.
Power Loss (Solar-Powered)- Bobby’s powers come from solar energy, and it is possible for him to extinguish his powers if used too much at night. 

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 21 / Defenses: 16 (115)

-This is Bobby as of the early X-Force issues, when he was training with Gideon. He’s roughly as elite as his Modern version, but lacks his later additional powers- the Energy Blasts and the Flight, making him MUCH cheaper and kind of proving how much Bobby really needed those powers after all. 

Image

SUNSPOT (Roberto da Costa)- Late-New Mutants Era
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Bob McLeod
First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants (1982)
Role: The Powerhouse, The Lothario, The Angry Kid, The Spoiled Rich Boy
Group Affiliations: The New Mutants
PL 9 (109)
STRENGTH
3/9 STAMINA 3/5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+9)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Business) 2 (+2)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+4)
Expertise (Soccer Player) 4 (+7)
Insight 2 (+2)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Perception 2 (+2)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Attractive, Benefit (Wealth) 2, Diehard, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Hold, Languages (English, Latin, Portugese), Power Attack, Takedown, Teamwork

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Solar Absorption"
“Super-Strength” Enhanced Strength 6 [12]
“Not Invulnerable (but still tough)” Enhanced Stamina 2 [4]
Protection 3 [3]

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3 (+8 Powers), Fortitude +7 (+9 Powers), Will +6

Complications: 
Flashback (Juliana)- Roberto’s first love, Juliana sacrificed her life to save his in his first adventure, and he never quite forgot her after all these years.
Relationship (Sam Guthrie)- Roberto & Sam are the best of friends, and are part of an epic bromance. 
Reputation (Lothario)- Ever since he was a kid, Roberto would attempt to seduce anything female. Women usually sigh and put up with him, finding it non-threatening, but it often leads him to show off or do stupid things.
Relationship (Father)- Emmanuel da Costa was a brilliant businessman who was a houseboy at 10, a millionaire at 20, and a wealthy political powerhouse at 30, and expected the best of his son. Bobby longs to be worthy of his father, and attempts to follow in his footsteps after the latter’s death.
Power Loss (Solar-Powered)- Bobby’s powers come from solar energy, and it is possible for him to extinguish his powers if used too much at night. 
Obsession (Magnum P.I.)- Bobby’s obsession with the greatness of this TV show went a little too far at times, and the biggest heartbreak of his life after Juliana’s death was when it went off the air.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 19 / Defenses: 18 (109)

-Only slightly cheaper, but he drops a full Power Level down. This Bobby was around for the later (70s-90s) New Mutants issues, in their second Asgardian adventure and the fights against the Mutant Liberation Front. He’d gotten better, but was still rather limited to just punching guys. 

SUNSPOT (Roberto da Costa)- Mid-New Mutants Era
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Bob McLeod
First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants (1982)
Role: The Powerhouse, The Lothario, The Angry Kid, The Spoiled Rich Boy
Group Affiliations: The New Mutants
PL 7 (76)
STRENGTH
1/8 STAMINA 2/4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+6)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+4)
Expertise (Soccer Player) 4 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Persuasion 2 (+4)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Attractive, Fast Grab, Languages (English, Latin, Portugese), Power Attack

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Solar Absorption"
“Super-Strength” Enhanced Strength 7 [14]
“Not Invulnerable (but still tough)” Enhanced Stamina 2 [4]
Protection 2 [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +2 (+6 Powers), Fortitude +5 (+7 Powers), Will +5

Complications: 
Flashback (Juliana)- Roberto’s first love, Juliana sacrificed her life to save his in his first adventure, and he never quite forgot her after all these years.
Relationship (Sam Guthrie)- Roberto & Sam are the best of friends, and are part of an epic bromance. 
Reputation (Lothario)- Ever since he was a kid, Roberto would attempt to seduce anything female. Women usually sigh and put up with him, finding it non-threatening, but it often leads him to show off or do stupid things.
Relationship (Father)- Emmanuel da Costa was a brilliant businessman who was a houseboy at 10, a millionaire at 20, and a wealthy political powerhouse at 30, and expected the best of his son. Bobby longs to be worthy of his father.
Power Loss (Solar-Powered)- Bobby’s powers come from solar energy, and it is possible for him to extinguish his powers if used too much at night. 
Obsession (Magnum P.I.)- Bobby’s obsession with the greatness of this TV show went a little too far at times, and the biggest heartbreak of his life after Juliana’s death was when it went off the air.

Total: Abilities: 28 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 20 / Defenses: 14 (76)

-Around issue #50 or so, Bobby was one of the most destructive members of the team, but sucked at accuracy, and was HIGHLY vulnerable to attack, especially compared to other super-strong guys. +6 Toughness is barely beyond human limits. 

SUNSPOT (Roberto da Costa)- Debut
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Bob McLeod
First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants (1982)
Role: The Powerhouse, The Lothario, The Angry Kid, The Spoiled Rich Boy
Group Affiliations: The New Mutants
PL 5 (44)
STRENGTH
-1/6 STAMINA 0/3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 2 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 1 (+4)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+4)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+4)
Expertise (Soccer Player) 5 (+5)
Persuasion 2 (+4)

Advantages: 
Fast Grab, Languages (English, Latin, Portugese), Power Attack

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Solar Absorption"
“Super-Strength” Enhanced Strength 7 (Flaws: Limited to Daylight) [7]
“Not Invulnerable (but still tough)” Enhanced Stamina 3 (Flaws: Limited to Daylight) [3]
Protection 1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +0 (+4 Powers), Fortitude +2 (+5 Powers), Will +4

Complications: 
Flashback (Juliana)- Roberto’s first love, Juliana sacrificed her life to save his in his first adventure, and he never quite forgot her after all these years.
Relationship (Sam Guthrie)- Roberto & Sam are the best of friends, and are part of an epic bromance. 
Reputation (Lothario)- Ever since he was a kid, Roberto would attempt to seduce anything female. Women usually sigh and put up with him, finding it non-threatening, but it often leads him to show off or do stupid things.
Relationship (Father)- Emmanuel da Costa was a brilliant businessman who was a houseboy at 10, a millionaire at 20, and a wealthy political powerhouse at 30, and expected the best of his son. Bobby longs to be worthy of his father.
Power Loss (Solar-Powered)- Bobby’s powers come from solar energy, and it is possible for him to extinguish his powers if used too much at night. 
Obsession (Magnum P.I.)- Bobby’s obsession with the greatness of this TV show went a little too far at times, and the biggest heartbreak of his life after Juliana’s death was when it went off the air.

Total: Abilities: 12 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 11 / Defenses: 10 (44)

-And finally, we come to PL 5 (44) era Graphic Novel #4 Bobby. He lacks most of his Mental traits, Skills, Advantages, etc., and is just a highly-damaging kid (+8 damage is nothing to sneeze at) with crappy accuracy and really low defense.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Jan 30, 2022 5:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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